BRITAIN’S generous welfare system is to blame for thousands of migrants massing in Calais, the town’s mayor claimed yesterday.

Natacha Bouchart said the migrants were desperate to cross to Britain from the ferry port as “they can expect better conditions than anywhere else in Europe”.

In a thinly veiled threat she said countries that did not “take responsibility in this global problem” should face sanctions.

But a Tory MP accused her of trying to blame Britain for her town’s failure to act.

The row erupted after the Daily Express revealed thousands more migrants were heading to the UK because the French were threatening to end a border agreement.

Calais chiefs have pledged to do “everything they can” to get out of a treaty stipulating border checks must be carried out before passengers embark for Britain. Ms Bouchart said: “The main problem is the migrants that arrive in Calais don’t want to ask for asylum.

They want to travel on to England. They want to go to England as they can expect better conditions on arrival there than anywhere else in Europe or even internationally. “There are no ID cards. They can easily find work outside the formal economy that is not really controlled.

“They can get social welfare support that doesn’t exist in other countries. “It’s migrants themselves who arrive in England and who pass on the message that there is plenty more space for migrants to come.”

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The main problem is the migrants that arrive in Calais don’t want to ask for asylum

Ms Bouchart

She said the UK “is not really interested” as border controls take place on French soil and called for measures to be taken against countries who didn’t take responsibility for the global problem. And she claimed Britain leaves her to manage the problem “without financial assistance”.

“It’s truly an enormous responsibility and hugely difficult for me personally as mayor of a town of 75,000 inhabitants,” said Ms Bouchart, in an interview for the Council of Europe Journal.

Numbers of migrants camped around the town have risen from 500 to 3,000. Last year the authorities were “unable to handle the situation”, she said.

The response from British authorities was “not very substantial”, she said, citing an offer of 15 million euros (£11million) to pay for security measures Ms Bouchart called for European countries to take part in a system of “quotas” for migrants, which are “revised” according to world events, and to create reception centres for migrants.

She added: “People continue to arrive. Europe’s main challenge is to urgently address and give priority to solving the daily problems associated with migration.”

But Charlie Elphicke, Tory MP for Dover, said: “Once again, the mayor of Calais is talking total codswallop.

“Everyone knows she wants to tear up our border controls at Calais; she wants to send more migrants to Britain.

“It is time she took responsibility rather than seeking to blame everyone else.”